Recovery partition missing on OS X El Capitan

Yes, I've been wondering the same thing.

On Apple's website here, it says that Command-R activates the recovery partition but the version of OS X that came with your computer. However, Command-R boots into the El Capitan recovery disk. Is there a reason? Or is there a way to revert this?

geegeeman77 wrote:

Yes, I've been wondering the same thing.

On Apple's website here, it says that Command-R activates the recovery partition but the version of OS X that came with your computer. However, Command-R boots into the El Capitan recovery disk. Is there a reason? Or is there a way to revert this?

Thanks for this thread. Now I know how to access the recovery partition as in the past holding down the option key was the ticket. Not sure I understand the above question but it would make sense that the El Capitan recovery command will boot you into El Capitan recovery "disk". There is no way to "revert" this. If you would like to format an earlier version of OS X you will have to do it from a bootable USB drive-perhaps one that you made in the past.

Oh! My apologies for not being clear!

I looked into it further, and it seems Apple changed things around since El Capitan. It seems that entering the Recovery Partition is now by just using the shortcut Command-R (which used to be Internet Recovery). Internet Recovery changed to Command-Option-R. It seems Apple disabled entering the Recovery Partition from the Startup Manager (holding down the Option key at boot). How peculiar.

I was just confused about Recovery vs. Internet Recovery. In the past before El Capitan, you entered Internet Recovery through Command-R, and the Recovery Mode it entered was the version of OS X that came with your computer (for example, if you bought your Mac with Mountain Lion, and you updated to Yosemite, Internet Recovery would be the Mountain Lion version of recovery). I hope I made that clearer, but I suppose it is a little difficult to explain without actually showing it, heh.

Apple hasn't changed any of its boot-up key combos for years.

Internet Recovery has always been and still is CMD+OPTION+R.

Local Recovery has always been and still is OPTION+R.

Accessing the local recovery system via OPTION has always worked and still does.

All of the above is true for OS X up until and including 10.11.2.

If your system doesn't work that way you might have an underlying issue with your installation.

<edit> If you don't have a recovery partition on your system disk, CMD+R would start the Internet Recovery instead.</edit>

Huh, weird. Thanks for letting me know!

I guess I didn't catch that when I looked it up. So, do you think a simple reinstallation of the OS from the Recovery Partition will make it turn back to normal? Or do you think perhaps it needs a little more than that?

Are you in the same situation as the OP (BootCamp partition and no way of accessing the local recovery system via OPTION)?

Yes, however I removed my BootCamp partition a few weeks ago, and it still isn't there.

Before you start "fixing" anything, I'd suggest you recheck that you're doing it the proper way.

1. Turn off your Mac.

2. Connect an Apple USB keyboard (doing it with a Bluetooth keyboard can be very tricky and is not always successful).

3. Press and hold the OPTION key.

4. Press the power button on your Mac.

5. Wait for the boot menu to appear.

geegeeman77 wrote:

Oh! My apologies for not being clear!

I looked into it further, and it seems Apple changed things around since El Capitan. It seems that entering the Recovery Partition is now by just using the shortcut Command-R (which used to be Internet Recovery). Internet Recovery changed to Command-Option-R. It seems Apple disabled entering the Recovery Partition from the Startup Manager (holding down the Option key at boot). How peculiar.

I was just confused about Recovery vs. Internet Recovery. In the past before El Capitan, you entered Internet Recovery through Command-R, and the Recovery Mode it entered was the version of OS X that came with your computer (for example, if you bought your Mac with Mountain Lion, and you updated to Yosemite, Internet Recovery would be the Mountain Lion version of recovery). I hope I made that clearer, but I suppose it is a little difficult to explain without actually showing it, heh.

Oh, Got it. I did a test and internet recovery for me is indeed Command Option-R.

The only thing I don't see that Bigshwabel stated is that I cannot access local recovery with just holding down the option key when booting up.

The only thing I don't see that Bigshwabel stated is that I cannot access local recovery with just holding down the option key when booting up

That seems to be dependent on having a CoreStorage volume setup. They may have disabled it altogether, but at one time it was possible on the old disk setup, but not there for CoreStorage. CoreStorage gets set up if you use FileVault and I think Bootcamp, but not sure on the second. I also think a Fusion drive setup uses CoreStorage.

Great thread!

I am missing the "Apple_Boot Recovery HD" recovery partition. It is no where to be found!

A) Command R does not work?

B) Not present when terminal is opened-up and diskutil list is typed in?

C) Not present on boot list of drives while pressing ALT/Option key?

El Captain is fully updated, so is their a process to recover it, or a direction I can go to get it?

Thanks

El Captain is fully updated, so is their a process to recover it, or a direction I can go to get it?

If your Mac is from 2010* or later, it can use Internet Recovery. Use Cmd-Opt-R and it will try to boot from Apple's servers.

If you reinstall El Capitan from that, it may recreate the Recovery partition.

Now, if you are trying cmd-R and nothing happens, then it may be that your Mac isn't capable of Internet Recovery. In that case, you must "recover" from your original installation DVDs that shipped with that Mac.

*The list of Macs from that era capable of Internet Recovery are listed in this document. If yours is in that list, then you would have had to install a firmware update to enable Internet Recovery. Anything built after those Macs have Internet Recovery built-in.

Computers that can be upgraded to use OS X Internet Recovery - Apple Support

Barney,

Thank you for your reply, and it looks like I have to install El Captain all over again as I have a 2007/2008 ...

It got deleted got accidentally deleted using the old disk utility as it cannot see it. I was trying to modify the disk partition, and the new disk utility does not has the power of the old one, andddd to top it off one has to disable the SIP using terminal in the El Captain recovery partition to install a Win-clone partition backup on an older Apple like mine...

Thank you for your Help

Martin

Useful thread. I have the same problem but I don't think its been answered yet: How do I install the recovery disk?

I have a 2015 Mac Pro running 10.11.2. It doesn't show the recovery disk when I hold alt on reboot and CMD-R goes straight the internet recovery. (confirming that there is no recovery disk - I also checked in diskutil )

The reason I'm looking to install the recovery disk is that this machine is going onto a work network with no internet connection.

Ideas?